I found this to be surprising. I was suprised it cost me $5. I was suprised I paid it. I was suprized it contained so many stems. I was suprised it burned my whole mouth and made me physicaly ill. But hey, I had to try it for myself just to see how bad it actually was... What's that sound? Thats me slamming my head in a door so as to remind me not to do this again. A total failure as a smoking mixture. 0 of 10

Horrible. Period. Burns like hell, tastes like your sister's knickers and smells like a wet and elderly dog. The pope should anathematise it. If there were any justice, the blenders at Borkum Riff would be doing penance in chains.

The whisky flavor is not as deep as the Bourbon Whiskey version, and weakens some after the half way point, exposing the dullness of the grassy Virginia and toasted, nutty burley. Has little nicotine. Burns fast, hot, and scorches the tongue even when puffed slowly. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and needs few relights. Hardly has much of an after taste outside of a little sweetness.

Well, we all make mistakes in life, right? This was mine. I didn't have a tounge for a few days after I smoked it, and I have treated the pipe with a full cleaning. I hope the briar gods forgive me. If you like Ripple for your daily wine, African Robusto coffees, and old Wonder Bread, this might be for you. Your taster's gone anyway, so what the hell.

I wouldn't be suprised to find out that it isn't really tobacco, just dried dung from Scandanavian musk oxen.

Pouch note is not pleasant. Smells like cheap tobacco with a cheap Whiskey casing. Smokes very hot and has a terrible taste followed by a putrid room note. There are really no redeeming qualities for this tobacco.

I haven't found a Borkum Riff that I enjoy but this is probably the worst one. Avoid.

I've been trying various OTC's and so A Borkum Riff was on my list. It was a pouch of the Whiskey that I unfortunately ended up with. The pouch note was a little boozy, but not much. The first few puff give a light whiskey taste and then it was downhill from there, way downhill. The stuff burned hot despite various efforts to slow way down and it was all I could do to keep it from biting. The aftertaste was ashy and nasty. Even the room note, for an aromatic, was just not that good. There are better, much better OTC's. In fact it makes other OTC's positively shine. After a two bowls I ended up disposing with the package in the round file. I do not recommend this at all, unless you want to stop smoking.

I am reviewing the BR Whiskey -- which is what was printed on the pouch, btw, NOT Bourbon Whiskey. Got it for a buck on a manufacturer's coupon, totally dried out and crunchy (the only pipe tobacco that filthy Winn Dixie had). Rehydrated with the old wet-paper-towel-over-a-bowl trick, which brought back the moisture. I'm not convinced that rehydration of really, really dry tobacco restores its pre-dried out character, but this stuff is rough.

Choose any of the negative reviews and it will be correct. Harsh, lacking in presence, character, taste -- and really cheap tobacco. The contempt this company has for its customers is appalling, worse than the tobacco. Didn't taste any whiskey, either. This will bite you like a rattler unless you puff easy. The room note is better than the taste.

But, I almost never throw tobacco away. It goes into the Everything Goes jar, so one day I will have my dollar's worth of pleasure many times over. On the other hand, the other leaf in the jar may not want to meld with this stuff. We will see.

PROS Readily available wherever cheap tobaccos are sold. Finely cut ribbons of tobacco that packs easily It light's readily and burns to a fine ash The room note is tolerable * It is inexpensive

CONS It tastes like crap It BITES, hard * Burns hot

Borkum Riff Whiskey is most definitely a triumph of marketing over reality. Seriously, this stuff is everywhere.

Last week, while waiting for my wife to emerge from a local discount shop, I ducked into a nearby tobacconist in search of pipe cleaners. The BRW caught my eye and while the thought crossed my mind to whip out my smart phone and pull up the reviews here, I didn't want to look like too much of a nerd. It was cheap, so I thought, what the heck, I bought it.

I smoked a generous bowl in the confines of my truck while continuing to wait for my wife. I became readily apparent that BRW was not all that it was cracked up to be.

Now, I pulled out my smart phone and pulled up the reviews for BRW, reading while I smoked. Oh boy! I must say, some of you are quite creative and brutal.

I won't go so far as to describe BRW as "piss soaked cardboard", but as someone who NEVER throws away tobacco, even stuff I don't particularly like, I am seriously thinking about it.

By the time my wife joined me in the truck I was two thirds of the way through the bowl. I had a headache and my mouth was burning.

Reading some of the reviews here and am floored by all the one star ratings. When I first started pipe smoking twenty some odd years ago this was one of the first blends I tried. I'm not a fan of Borkum Riff, but I've been playing around with this one. I usually smoke Smoker's Pride Whiskey. Sutliff also makes a wonderful Whiskey Cavendish, but it's a little on the sweet side. Think of Goldie Locks and the Three Bears if you choose BRW. In this case BRW is the Pappa Bear of the three brands: strong and straightforward with less sweetness. If you dry out on parchment paper 6-8 hours, the flavors are more well rounded. It doesn't burn as hot and offers a dryer smoke. This makes a good mixer. I have a special blend called Bad River Blend with BRW as the base, Toasted Cavendish and Dutch Masters President cigars for a smoky, creamy note. Turned out to be a very pleasant smoke. If you like strong, straightforward blends with less sweetness this might become a staple in your stockpile. Some people complain BRW is too bitey. Actually, what you're tasting is the burn of the alcohol playing off the sugars in the virginias. The burley is smooth throughout minus the sourness.The black Cavendish balances it all out. The key is to air this out over night to acieve the best flavor. Aging in mason jars highly reccomended. So for it's versatility, decent flavor, price, room note and sticking to honest ingredients I'll give it three stars.

[Note: This is the same Borkum Riff tobacco as that listed as "Bourbon Whiskey."]

In the pouch, this fine-cut ribbon blend has the typically sweet cavendish aroma along with an unobtrusively natural bourbon scent.

This is a blend of golden virginia and burley cavendishes along with black (burley?) cavendish that is rather sweet without becoming excessively syrupy. The bourbon whiskey topping is credible and admirably plays the role of unifying agent.

A classic, Borkum Riff Bourbon Whiskey is a quietly elegant smoke for those who enjoy tobaccos on the sweeter side. This will ghost a briar and seemed best in narrow to medium gauge chambers.

I'm new to this hobby, so far, I tasted Erinmore Mixture, Captain Black(white), Gulden Dansk(Unknown brand), and the very unpleasant Borkum Riff Whiskey.

I'm a Scotch single malt fan, I know the taste of very good Whiskey and thrust me, this is F= gargage. Normally, I have a really soothing odor that linger in my mouth and on my clothes after a bowl. But with that, i had the impression I just smoked a pack of CAMEL(Real cheap brand of cigarette). If the supplier was not so far away from me, I'd kick his arse. I' m going to trow away the pouch, not without fear that this piece of crap contaminated my new pipe.

Like a guy who keeps hitting his head with a hammer because it feels so good when he quits, I find myself going back to Borkum Riff Whiskey from time to time. Why would I do that? I've pondered that question while frying my tongue with BRW and can only come to the conclusion that it was my first tobacco back in the early 1960s and I thorougly liked my new hobby, so maybe I'm trying to recapture that initial enjoyment. I could deal with almost anything this tobacco throws at me, except for the tongue bite. Believe me, after 40+ years of puffing, I know how to control a smoke to make it burn cool. But, no amount of expertise can save my tongue with this stuff. It tastes as good as a lot of tobaccos I've had in my day, and after allowed to dry a bit in the pouch it burns cleanly. However, as I have in the past, I am sure that some day in the future I will see a pouch and buy it. I wonder how old you have to be before you get smart?

As with any Borkum Riff tobacco, it doesn't take one long to realize the recipe behind this albatross. Save yourself some money by just cutting up some cardboard and soak it in piss overnight. There you have it...in bulk.

This was given to me as a birthday gag gift. One thing I can say for sure is it made me gag.

My tongue got burned to a crisp, it tasted terrible. So bad and unfamiliar that I cannot really compare it to anything. Maybe tea leaves? There's nothing fancy about this blend, but the hot smoke... I mean it was... VERY hot. My tongue is kinda messed up, and I won't be enjoying my meals the rest of the day. This isn't worth buying folks, just stay away. That's my sincere opinion. If you really want a great smoke with some great flavor, AND you want an aromatic, try Dunhill's Royal Yacht, Blue Note, or Sweet Vanilla Honeydew. I know it's wrong to suggest other blends while doing this review, but this blend is so bad that a potential pipester might be put off by this blend forevermore.

So this is where everybody gathers together and finds their outlet for bashing tobacco. Well, that probably is a healthy thing then and to be honest this blend really lends itself to it.

Right away when opening the pouch you will be greeted by not enough. The whiskey aroma is only very faint and also artificial, the tobaccos play no role at all.

Packing and lighting both are easy but the burning properties are awful. It burns way too fast and way too hot but at least even and readily, there is very little maintenance needed.

The taste is just lousy to say the least. There is a light whiskey flavour popping in and out during the course of a bowl. But it only rarely is noticeable and when it is it just contributes to the overall bad taste. Also your tongue will hurt, hurt, hurt. This is one of the blends that i suggest when a break from smoking seems in order, to ease your chore with physical pain.

Aftertaste is bad also and lasts way too long. Plus i found you cannot get rid of it until it dissipates by its own. Room note is nice.

The entire Borkum Riff label was invented to get a grip on the American market and to suit the American smokers. So in the end the entire brand is just a marketing scheme everybody at first falls for and then never again falls for. I think every single smoker on this planet sooner or later will have dealings with one or the other Borkum Riff mixture. You really have to hand it to them how genius their concept is and how long they already are on the market. And what spread they have, you can get Borkum Riff all over the planet.

So do i recommend this blend? Lol are you joking? Have you not noticed how noone ever recommends this blend? So, no. Stay clear of it by all means necessary, it is not worth risking your health for this blend and be it the very last one on the planet.

I don't know if I can add much to what has been said in all the previous reviews. I first tried this when I was in college, because this is what the local liquor store sold and I didn't know better. It tasted horrible. Tongue burn, and a terrible taste in my mouth I couldn't get rid of for days. I though all pipes tasted like that and I gave up. So this is the tobacco that turned me off pipe smoking. It wasn't until 35 years later that I decided I'd try it again, mostly because my brother enjoys cigars and other fine stuff and showed me there are better tobaccos out there.

This stuff is possible the worst tobacco that I have ever had the displeasure of smoking. I'm not a tobacco snob, per se (I like a lot of OTCs), but this stuff is truly apalling. It burns hot, tastes horrible, and will burn your tongue like it's made from pepper spray. I usually defer to others and say that it's just not for me, but let me assure you -- you'll want to avoid this like the plague.

Beware of the bite. Where some tobaccos bite when too wet, this one will numb you instantly if allowed to dry any. Taste: Very spicy. Flavor is very peppery. Like black pepper. I would smoke this more if not for the bite. No tobacco has ever bitten me harder than this stuff after drying out a little. Once it drys out too much, smoking slow makes little difference. It bites. Room note: Tolerable. Not perfume, but not straight burley either. Still better than any cigarette. Final Notes: I like the taste well enough that I'd blend it with other tobaccos if not for the bite. This stuff bites so hard it almost makes it unusable for anything. I heard you can doctor it by adding a quarter ounce of whiskey to the pouch and letting set a week. I may try that sometime with an extra pouch I have handy. Either that or give it to the neighbor that is continually asking if I have any extra smoke to share.

UPDATE 8/04/2012 I added whiskey to the pouch (1/4 ounce) and gave it a couple days to osmosis around. The addition of whiskey definitely mellowed the bite and tamed the overall strength. It did improve it considerably. But not enough for me to consider buying another pouch.

I have to say trying this was one of the most unpleasant smoking experiences of my life. My brother gave me an almost full packet having tried it and found it not to his taste. I should have binned it there and then but curioisity lead me to try it, just to see how bad it was.

Upon opening the packet I was greeted with a sickly sweet tarry smell fading to rotting leaves. The substance within (I refuse to acknowledge it as tobacco) was in thin strands and sticky and moist to the touch.

Fooled by its appearence I packed it quite loosely expecting it to burn slowly. Wrong! it burned very fast and very hot, probably due to the petro-chemicals it was drenched in, (diesel oil perhaps?). If I tasted anything in the first few seconds It was tar, my toungue and mouth were so scorched as to be useless. I was too nauseated to finish a whole bowl and knocked it out to refill with my then usual fine cavandish cherry. On firing up my refilled pipe I had to check I had not refilled it with Riff by mistake as the toungue burning tar taste was as strong as before! On investigation I found a soggy black mass of chemicals anealed to the bottom and sides of my pipe bowl. An hour of frantic reaming and cleaning cleared enough muck to alow me to smoke again but the bitter/tar taste lingered for several pipes afterward.

The room note, (stench would be a better word) was acrid and sweet with a chemical burning smell akin to an acid spill in a chemistry lab.

It cuts me to the quick that the manufacturers of this filth have the gall to label it premium pipe tobacco.

The astonishing thing is people still buy it and smoke it, presumeably after they have got thier arms out of their strait-jackets!

I remember when this blend first hit the American market about 40 years ago. I had tried only a few blends at the time and I was trying a pouch of everything I could find in search of something I could like. BR whiskey was the best of the OTC blends at the time. It doesn't seem to taste the same now as it did then but it is still much better than the other drug store blends such as the Captain Black crap (which, by the way, would gag a maggot off a gut wagon).

Well, I purchased this blend because I really enjoy the Black Cavendish Borkum Riff makes. This one was very...mild, it has a flavor of mainly corn; from the Virginia's I think. The Whiskey is quite literally non-existant. You get mainly a corn-like sweetness with a touch of nutiness from the burley.

If you like very mild tasting tobaccos with a corn-like sweetness and very faint nutiness from burleys, give it a try. But there are far better Whiskey blends available out there; China Black for example.

Yes---It's really that bad.Don't touch it.Run in any direction away.Don't be silly,your tongue will thank you every day you don't smoke this.Everyone who knows you ,will thank you for not smoking this.I am a firm believer in everyone smoking what they like...except this.

I am not one of these who have tried hundreds of blends. But, I probably have tried in the neighborhood of 35-40 blends. This is maybe the only one that I have smoked a couple of bowls full, then threw away the package.

It has been awhile since I have tried this so I can not give any specifics about its 'qualities', but I just know that is was totally unsmokable, and I can not imagine how a company could stay in business selling this garbage.

This bit the heck out of me. It bit me years ago too. Some things never change. The whiskey sure doesn't do anything for this tobacco. Except perhaps make it worse.

I don't like giving just one star to a tobacco but this isn't even cheap enough to make it worth recommending to people who are broke. If you are like me and have to try everything you find then go ahead. Don't say you weren't warned.

I smoked a pipe 25 years ago and remember smoking BorKum Riff. Maybe it was a different blend. Maybe I was young and uninformed. Bottom line: The stuff was awful!!! Very little taste. Not much aroma (the wife said it stinks!). Burned terrible. Just bad. Pass on this one!

I don't know what possessed me to try this tobacco. I had tried two Borkum Riff tobaccos before (Vanilla and Cherry) and disliked both of them. I guess I had nothing better to do and was in need for a good laugh.

Like the other Borkums I've tried, this stuff smokes hot, lacks flavor, and whatever flavor you get is artificial and gross. Leaves a mess in your pipe which then requires the need for all sorts of domestic house cleaning products. Think of what it's doing to your tongue! I double dare anyone to smoke a bowl of this, and use mouth wash to get rid of it's "flavor". Don't do it!!

Even Borkum's own Vanilla Cavendish is a work of high art compared to this - and that tobacco is terrible. If you can call it that, that is. Tobacco, I mean! What I want to know is this :

Who buys this crap? Why? Why is it even manufactured?

I'm quite convinced that the guys who blend this don't have any sense of smell, taste, or touch.

Sorry Borkum, but I will never be buying any of your products ever again. I'd rather set my own hair on fire and inhale the smoke.

Concur, but found it tolerable one time with a fresh pouch, right out of the pouch, in a pipe with a very small bowl (which is now finally smokeable again after two years) on a cold day while drinking strong black coffee to cover the taste.

Do yourself a favor. Pull your spare tire out of your trunk and set it on fire. Stand over it and smell the fumes. It will be better than this stuff.

I for one never throw tobacco away. Too many pipe smokers out there would give their right arm for a pouch of tobacco as times are hard. If something tastes bad to me I'll try and blend it or cellar it away for a year or so to see if it improves. Nothing has worked with this stuff. I couldn't even find anyone that would take it off my hands. This is the very first tobacco I have ever thrown away. Sorry pipe lovers, I did you a favor this time by tossing it.

I bought this before I even had a computer, so as others have said, I never read a review of this one before I bought and tried it. I mean, it was sold everywhere at that time so it had to be good, right?

Wrong.

It tasted bad, it was really goopy, and even my rookie palate at the time knew it. Still, being the trouper I was back then (short on funds), I didn't waste a bit of it. I can look back and be philosophical about it, it was all part of the journey. Thank goodness I stuck with the hobby...

I bought a pouch of this before reading any reviews, and BOY, I probably wouldn't have bought it if I had read some reviews on it, because its reviews are horrible, even though the lady at the tobacco store said it was the tobacco she sold the most of. I didn't think it was that bad. I liked it a little more than Captain Black. It definitely is a stronger and more "tobacco" like flavor but it leaves a sweet smoky aftertaste on the roof of your mouth. The smoke is definitely not aromatic so smoke outdoors. The tobacco was a little dry right out of the pouch and it bit my tongue a little bit so I was forced to smoke slow. Seemed to stay lit fairly well. My first impression wasn't awful but at the same time I'm not in love with it either. Don't think I'll ever fall in love with a drug store tobacco. Cheers.

UPDATE: Upon a second bowl of BR Whiskey, a horrible taste was detected, not sure what it was but I'm pretty sure a large mammal crawled into my pipe and died there before I smoked it. I'm not going to revisit the Riff any time soon. One star. Not recommended.

If you want to stop smoking - this will do the trick. Smoke some of this then drink a soda -- I dare ya! We loose a lot of pipemen due to blends as this. You might try smoking the plastic package it comes in - no worse.

Opening the package, this tobacco has the aroma of cheap American style RYO blends. Figuring that these types of tobaccos are barely tolerable in cigarettes, I couldn't expect much from them in a pipe, where quality is much more important.

It lights, it burns, the taste is somewhat sweet and somewhat ashy. The flavor can become almost acrid. The aroma this tobacco produces is offensive. Smoking it indoors, I could not tolerate the aroma, so I assume that others would find it equally offensive. I didn't find it to bite the tongue, which may be its only redeeming quality.

If you are looking for a widely carried blend at a cheap price, Captain Black (Blue and White), Prince Albert, Carter Hall, and Sir Walter Raleigh are all better choices.

I tend to favor weird aromatics of this sort. I like the vanilla and cherry flavors but when I see this sort of aromatic I always give it a try. It had a musky flavor and smell similar to Sir Walter Raleigh aromatic and felt of same quality.

This is one that every smoker should try. Buy a pouch and share it with other pipe smokers that may not have tried it. After this experience any tobacco (no matter how bad) will definitely be a step up. I didn?t care for it in the early 80?s then since my taste had changed I gave it another try in the late 90?s. After being introduces to better quality tobaccos the experience was worse than I remembered.

Swill. CRAP. HORRIBLE! I like a good aromatic as much as the next guy, and enjoy some more traditional English blends as well, and this stuff is GARBAGE. It is shredded like confetti, overly dry and brittle between your fingers, and bites like hell no matter how gently you try and smoke it. I smoked 2 bowls on different days and tossed the remainder in the trash.

I bought a pouch of this for the sake of trying, was a while ago, but on rare occasions I (usually) smoke it in a cob. It doesn't really deserve all this negative press, even if it's hardly the best tobacco ever made.

It is quite strong, which surprises me a little. I can detect the burley and a faint taste of bourbon (more like a hint of sweet-corn after taste than anything else, which does intensify somewhat further down the bowl). Can't sense any virginia in there, though it is probably in there somewhere, if you look hard enough.

It treats my tongue well, but I guess it'll bite if you tempt fate (what tobacco doesn't?). At worst a small tingle on the false light. After that it burns without any problems at all. It is very thinly cut, almost like loosepacked cigarette tobacco, which makes packing a breeze. This makes it burn pretty fast also, for better or for worse.

Should you try it? Who knows, you might like it.

As far as I am concerned, I probably won't buy another pouch of it, but on the other hand, I don't regret buying the one I have now.

One really has to hand it to the folks at Borkum Riff. They pulled off one of the biggest con job advertising/packaging campaigns in the history of pipesmoking.

Low grade tobaccos and flavorings packed in an attractive pouch and sold as a premium product in drug stores. Pretty slick.

Even slicker is how they manage to foist this crap upon the public in this day and age. With the advent of the internet and subsequently so much information about pipe tobacco and a whole new level of availability for previously hard to find tobacco, it's amazing that anyone would settle for this type of low grade product.

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public." - H. L. Mencken

I smoked this stuff along with half and half when I first started smoking a pipe. At first, without much to compare it to, I thought it was alright. Years later I revisited this blend hoping I would grow fond of it since it is readily available. Well, the second time around i didn't think it was alright, in fact i hated it. I smoked about three quarters of the pouch just to see if i could make myself like it but i had to stop. The taste is strong but it doesn't really taste like tobacco or whiskey, it was like smoking pencil shavings. My tongue was so sore after a while that it was a pain in the butt to brush my teeth.

It's easy to pack and keep lit, but it is too dry for my taste.

I don;t know, since i see this stuff everywhere i guess it's good, otherwise why would it be so popular? It's just not exactly my kind of smoke. My advice would be to just give it a try, you might like it.

UPDATE: I changed my mind, I thought about it and there are so many decent blends out there with two start that this one does not deserve two start. Downgrading it to one star

Wise was I to try this old standard in a cob! I got a hold of an older (mid 70s)pack of this blend, awakened its dry contents with the help of a tart apple slice, and after a few days, smoked. I can only imagine that those inclined to like the floral flavours might, just might, appreciate this tabak. There is something of the Lakeland taste in the smoke. The smell in the pouch is sweet and enticing. However, that's where the fun stops. I have joined the chorus on this note...out the window it goes.

This tasted and smelled like cigarettes. I started smoking pipe tobacco for a reason... to get away from cigerettes. This rancid smell from the pouch should have tipped me off. Unfourtunately its so widely available; I'm not too sure who even buys this stuff. If you like chemical ridden smoke then this is it... If you like pipe tobacco... definately try something different.

This is one of the first pipe tobaccos I ever tried (together with Capt. Black, Amphora Red and Clan). In my opinion, this is the best of the Borkum Riff range or, if you so prefer, not as bad as the others in this German-Swedish family. It is not as goopy or cased as either the Black or Cherry Cavendish varieties, and it does have more body and presence than the Ultra Light or Champange versions.

Evidently a popular tobacco, and readily available almost anywhere, it has enough Virginia flavour to fight back the Bourbon whiskey casing, and the Burley adds a certain sharpness which I find rather enticing. To put it briefly: it does taste of tobacco. The samples I remember were not particularly moist, and the famous (or infamous) riff cut (long thin strands) were never an obstacle to pack and light it easily. I assume it must contain some humectant or artifical substance to keep it fresh, and that tends to give it an industrialised undertone. But it's not that bad. I would rate BRW a mild to middle strength smoke, not really sweet, and if smoked slowly it won't bite. Not a particularly cool smoke, it does leave a tolerable room aroma.

Within the range of highly commercial brands, this blend is pretty good and can be smoked safely by both aromatic and non aromatic smokers. Definitely not an exceptional tobacco, but if stranded somewhere in the wild, it can become a passable option. __________

NB: I just tried the new, Danish blended version. It is much better than its previous German version. The taste is fuller and rounder, and the casing seems to be now a topping, providing a more defined and richer tobacco flavor, with a stronger Burley presence. Hence, one more star for this readily available blend. Smoke it slowly, though, because the tongue bite is still there...(January, 2007)

Forget it, don't even bother with this stuff. Just simply bad, not much else you can about this. If you are in a pinch and this is all you can find, stop smoking a pipe until you can get some real tobacco.

I've always had bad experiences with borkum riff, so far everything I've tried by them has been disappointing to say the least, this mix was no exeception. But I'd like to note that there's a slightly different and better version of this by borkum riff as well, it's called "High maltland whisky", and to be honest with you, that one is pretty good, it's the ONE BR mix I can enjoy, then again, it's not like that this other mix is the best thing ever, but at least it's smokeable, and tasty so try that one, and forget about this dreadful one.

This was one of my first tobaccos, Last year i picked up a pouch of this for the sake of nostalgia. I dont know what kind of whiskey they use, but i assume its rotgut. It will burn a pipe to the ground, along with your eyes and nose. dont bother with this.

Yuck!!! This stuff is full of casing. It is a hot and harsh smoke. It dried out my mouth on the first draw. I could not finish my bowl and ended up throwing the whole pouch away. Oh well I learn the hard way.

It's hard for me to believe it now, but when I first took up the pipe in the mid-80s, this was actually my favorite smoke !?! No wonder I actually gave up pipe smoking for several years. In fact, given that this "tobacco" is sold nearly everywhere, I assume that many people are buying it, and I can't believe that they somehow stick with the hobby, as I have. Amazing. It's not worth much time or effor to either write a detailed review of this blend, nor for the reader to spend much time reading it. Let's just say that for the same or less money, there are so many blends that are wonderful smokes, and not a tongue-scorching torture experience like this is. In fact, the only way I would every buy any of this tobacco again is if I needed to convert my briar into either a cutting torch or a flamethrower. This stuff smokes HOT, and leaves a gnarly aftertaste for a considerable time period afterward. Do yourself a big favor, and look elsewhere for your pipe fodder. Definitely not recommended.

Sigh, A man I greatly admired smoked this and I bought and tried it. I am suprised and decided to give it a fair review. Aroma: Booze, Raisins. Taste: at start, am I smoking? 1/3: toast, light sweet 2/3: a salsa-like tingle, light sweet 3/3: stronger toast and mild spicy tingle. sweet through nose. Super availible, Mild fix when your out of your overpriced boutique crap. I have spent four times as much for tobacco I have tossed out. It is adequate. Virginia/ Burley mix.

I recieved Borkum Riff Whiskey as a gift from a friend. I was very new to pipesmoking. In fact, the only other tobacco I had smoked by the time I received BRW was Clan.

Because I was new to pipe smoking, I wondered what the appeal of smoking was after trying this tobacco. The taste was terrible and it burnt my tongue. Thank God it's buried away in clutter and I have found better tobaccos.

I have smoked this several times over my pipe smoking career and have never been able to get attached to it. This is one of those drug store blends that I buy because there is no tobacconist for miles and I?m desperate. Every time I end up with tongue bite and a nasty taste in my mouth. I?ve never been all that good at smoking Danish blends and maybe I just smoke it too hard, but I?m always sorry I purchased this one. I never can taste the whiskey unless that is what is so hot. Some day I would like to try the cherry version of this however I?m afraid that one will really be a scorcher! Some day , somewhere in a small town out of the way I may meet a bag of cherry Borkum R. and we will see just what kind of dare devil I can be.

well i have to start out saying,this isn't what i expected,i didn't taste the whiskey,it initially had some tongue bite,although slight,it went away the more i smoked it.i expected more of a aroma,by the smell of the pouch when first opened it i figured there would be more of a aroma.it certainly isn't strong so i would say its good for newbies.i would buy this in a pinch.

My Dad smoked this, so in his memory, I decided to give it a try. The pouch aroma took me back to when I was a kid and would smell the contents in the black and white pouch with a picture of a sailing ship on it. And there ends anything pleasant I have to say about this blend. There are drugstore blends I can tolerate, and there are one or two I'd say I like. I enjoy all types of blends, aromatics, english, crossover hybrids, burley-based, VAs, etc. With Borkum Riff Whiskey, where the flavoring failed to disappoint me, the smoking characteristics and flavor of the crappy tobacco when it finally made its appearance took over where the atrocious casing left off. Sorry Dad.

I signed on to this site as a reviewer just so I could pan this tobacco. Once upon a time, I decided to quit cigarettes and smoke a pipe, actually a small collection of pipes inherited from Granddad-decent pipes. So off to the drugstore to get, you guessed it ?Borkum Riff-Whiskey?.

For two hellish months of torture I dump bowl after bowl of soggy, gooey, sticky, smelly, nasty, putrid remnants of each end bowl trying to learn ?technique?, build cake, packing, etc. with my pipes. The physical effects of this experience included tongue incineration, scorched mouth, nausea, sinus headaches, you get the idea.

Finally, I switched to a real tobacco and the story has a happy ending. Smoking real tobacco in a briar pipe is a joy to me today.

For the uninitiated to this concoction: BEWARE-STAY AWAY FROM BORKUM RIFF!!!

Wwow!! when you smoke this stuff you had better have a fire extinguisher ,or a bucket -o- water around because this stuff burns hot! hot!! hot!!! I could not get this stuff to burn cool no matter how I packed the bowl. I found the tast to be too much for me as well. I suppose the the room note was o. k. Not recommended.

I smoked this on occasion back in the 1970's and to tell the truth, either I have changed over time or the tobacco has changed. I won't bother to go over the smoking qualities since there a gaggle of reviews on this blend already and I aggree with almost all of them.

However, let me point out and recommend to everyone that if Borkum Riff Whiskey or any flavored whiskey blend is a factor to the taste buds. Then forget this stuff!! Try Finck's Whiskey from Finck Cigar Company. It's made by Peter Stokebye and is a hell of an improvement over this p*ss soaked cardboard from Borkum Riff.

After years, I tried this stuff again for a bit of nostalgia. Bad decision. It is sad that this is one of the main offerings to newer pipe smokers.

This gunk, packed into a Dr. Grabow, touched off by a match produces a blowtorch effect that could cut a rusted bolt off of a battleship anchor.

The room note is o.k., but what would you expect from boiling caramel? I like my wife's Yankee Candles too, but I have never felt the need to dump the molten wax on some Burley and light it in a pipe. I rated the flavoring as strong, only because it is unrestrained topping dumped on Burley. I have no clue as to the quality of the Virginia because all semblance of tobacco is eclipsed by the cheap flavoring.

My only regret, aside from trying this stuff again, is that I actually have to give this stuff a star. There should be a no-star catagory for assaultive sugared-up goop.

Produced in Denmark for the Swedish Match Company, Borkum Riff Whiskey is an easily accessible and low cost tobacco mixture that is not necessarily favored by dedicated pipe tobacco smokers.

The pouch aroma is of flavored figs and is certainly one-dimensional. There is little doubt that Borkum Riff Whiskey has a medium strong casing. This blend is comprised of lower quality Virginia and Burley tobaccos. The color of the blend has an even distribution of dark brown, light brown, and orange/yellow shades.

The cut is somewhat crude and resembles a refined shag cut. Packing is simple and the initial moisture is not overwhelming, but nonetheless it needs some drying. Borkum Riff Whiskey, if allowed to remain exposed to the open air, will not dry completely but instead remain slightly spongy. The heavy addition of a humectant to this tobacco blend is responsible for the aforementioned characteristic.

Lighting of this blend is simple enough and the burn of Borkum Riff Whiskey is quite rapid, uneven, and leaves dottle in the darker colored ash. A good amount of gooey resin is always present at the bottom of the bowl by the end of the smoke. The room note tends to be somewhat ashy.

The whiskey component cannot be detected easily in the flavor of this mixture. Instead, a bland and at times sour ashy taste remains painfully present in the flavor. Little true tobacco taste makes itself know while smoking this blend. Even when forced dried, Borkum Riff Whiskey still bites and tends to leave an unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth.

Although Borkum Riff Whiskey may certainly not be the worst of the convenience store pipe tobacco blends, it still falls short of being a decent tobacco.

Burley and virginia fine cut. The whisky flavoring isn't that good. It doesn't do the tobacco much justice. This blend was good when you could of purchased the cognac flavor or rum flavor. I don't care much for the cherry or whisky. If they brought back the other flavors I think some of the reveiws on this would be more positive. Especially the cognac. There's alot of good tobaccos that were discontinued and alot of lousy tobaccos still sold. Go figure! Thats the case here.

I bought this dreck when I was particularly ignorant about tobacco. The reference to smoking shredded newsprint soaked in bad bourbon is pretty apt. I was fortunate in that the sample I tried was quite dry, and I suffered no tongue bite. However, I couldn't finish the pouch, and I wouldn't dare make an enemy by giving it away. Save your money.

This tobacco offended me on a spiritual and emotional level. I was left with an acrid taste in my mouth, a fouled pipe (thank God for the disposability of corn cob pipes!) and a confused, melancholy realization that there are people out there that made this tobacco.

I find myself questioning the very goodness of humanity when tobacco like this is allowed to be sold to the public and not relegated to back-room torture chambers.

I purchased this to give some variation to my other tobaccos. I too had no problem with the stickiness or goopy residue although it does tend to bite the tongue if you are not careful. I am learning to smoke slower than I used too and have gone from a staight to a full bent pipe. Havent decided if that changes much other than the way I hold the pipe. It is kinda ashy tasting near the end but overall, not bad for a cheap store brand. Not a bad choice if out and about in the countryside, but not for relaxing on the back porch. My wife said it didnt smell bad, but I have to smoke outside anyway.

I am an Extreme Novice to Pipe Smoking and much like many of the Reviewers this was my first smoke. I don't exactly remember the texture, but i do think it was a bit sticky. I had to relight a few times, but at the time i just thought it was because i didn't know what i was doing. Like most people have said it does burn your tongue and leaves a nasty after tasty in your mouth sometimes for a couple days, but all in all i tried other Tobaccos. So i guess i would say it isn't amazingly bad as your first tobacco, but i would deffinitly recommend Captain Black Royal or White over any Borkum

I'm new to the world of pipe smoking (I've been smoking only a few months), but I don't think I would recommend this tobacco even to new smokers. I originally made a slightly more sympathetic review than others here, but had to come back and correct myself after smoking this crap for a while. It's flavor is really pretty bizarre, and doesn't have much of the "whiskey" taste stated on the label. The whiskey flavor it does have tastes like Wild Turkey that has been left out overnight. The pouch I bought was fairly dry, not sticky as is stated in some other reviews. It's better than some other drugstore tobaccos, but not by much. It does have more of a tea-like flavor than anything else. This stuff will bite the hell out of your tongue, and it smells pretty rank. This was actually the first tobacco I tried, but I have now tried it twice and haven't been able to finish a pouch either time.If you are a new smoker on a budget I would recommend Captain Black instead. If you smoke this, you may never want to smoke again. Oh, and another warning: the flavor this stuff leaves in your pipe will make you wonder if someone has been burning dead grass and newspaper in it. If you insist on smoking this stuff, don't do it in your favorite pipe.

I don't think this tobacco is that bad, it's not great, but not bad either. The contents of my pouch were quite dry, none of the stickiness reported by other reviewers. It left no residue on my fingers as I packed my pipe. It has a slightly sweet taste for the first half of the bowl but I found it does have a tendency to burn hot by the end. I found the aroma and taste pleasant but unremarkable. If you can afford better, by all means do so, but if you are on a budget and can't get to your tobacconist, it will do in a pinch.

I guess I just wanted to get my two cents in here on Borkum Riff in the hopes that I may help spare new pipers the torment I went thru some 15 yrs ago. If you are new to pipe smoking and you bought this stuff, throw it out and cut your losses. Otherwise, you will wonder why the pouch smells of chemicals and not tobacco, why it won't stay lit, why it burns your tongue, why you can't develop a cake in your bowl and why your tongue has a nasty taste on it 24/7. The reason? This weed is shite! So you wasted a few bucks--better than wasting a few months (or god forbid longer) trying to get this weed to smoke decently. Throw it out now, and buy some Captain Black White. If outside the U.S. try some Amphora Full Aroma (red pouch), but stay away from all Borkum weed!

I couldn't detect any taste of Whiskey at all.Infact it tasted more like 'tea leave's'to me!!!Made no impression on me at all.If you were desperate, & ran out everything else & could only get this(Then maybe it might better than nothing)1 star out of 4.

I am surprised at negative evaluation stated above. It is certain that this blend is not of so high quality, but I think this is not so bad blend in consideration of it's price range. I used to smoke this regularly when I was a novice. And I bought it once this year. It's simple flavour is suitable for novices. But if you expect the flabour of aged Bourbon Whisky on reading the description on the pouch, you will be disappointed. Yet, this blend has liquor like sweetness and a little sourness, it is true, and it burns regularly in cause of good component of Virginia and Burley. I think it's Burley makes capable of cool smoking. In a word, it is easy to deal with. It is worth mentioning that this blend contains no Black Cavendish. If you are tired of black Cavendish, this might be pace changer. In Bolkum Series, I prefer Champagne, which has more refined flabour. Now I smoke Champagne on occasion.

This was one of my first regular pipe tobaccos some 30 years ago. Being in my teens, I liked it better then my step-father's Half-N-Half. I do remember it being goopy and it did smoke hot, however, my puffin' cadence was quite rapid in those days.

I have tried on several occasions in the last couple of years to get reacquainted with this blend but find it very difficult to even finish a pouch of it. I think that once a smoker departs from this blend into the English and Virginia's, this blend seems very "tart & sour" tasting.

I have a co-worker that smokes this blend by the pound!! Apparently he's not by himself as this tobacco is on every shelf in the country.

If I was grading this tobacco 20-30 years ago, I would have probably given it a very high rating. Now after exploring the tobacco world and tasting and testing what it has to offer,..... I can't go back.

As for the above reviews, all I can say is, "now fellers, be nice." So what if this stuff is sweet, gooey and hot? It must be beloved by some folks because it's a brisk seller at the supermarkets. I smoked Borkum Whiskey some 30 years ago when I first took up the pipe. I'm still a pipe smoker, so, I couldn't have had nearly as bad an experience as the above reviewers. Or, perhaps I'm into self-mutilation. Oh well.

I bought and smoked this before I knew any better. Do yourself a favor: Shred up some old newspapers, soak them in cheap whiskey, and smoke them instead. You'll get the same result without the goopy residue in your pipe.

Some blends are aromatic flavored tobaccos, this is a slightly tobacco flavored aromatic. Opening the pouch was my first mistake, he unopened aroma should have warned me off. Packing it into a pipe was the second mistake, it was really sticky and left crap all over my fingers. Lighting it was the final mistake. Actually, the first mistake was buying the st. I'm soory, i didn't mean to insult st that way. STAY AWAY FROM IT!!

Yeah, yeah.. I've had my share of borkum riff, but making mistakes is what teaches us good lessons in life; like, never buy anything called "borkum". Again, opening the pouch produces a fairly bizarre stench, not so much of a whiskey smell as a smell of dead leaves. Not tobacco leaves, mind you.. something akin to oak leaves. This tobacco feels as awful as does the cherry blend, which makes sense, as its exactly the same thing with a different casing to it. The packing for this is exactly like the cherry blend, although not quite so sticky as the cherry stuff. As soon as fire hit the bowl, again, it retreated down about a quarter of the way for some reaason, and continued to burn quickly, and with lots of heat for the remainder of the bowl. Not recommended at all. It'd probably be a better smoke if one took some oak leaves, shoved them in your pipe, dumped in some whiskey, and lit it with a flaming chicken leg.